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Sixteen

Mist hung over the mountain, the wisps of water vapor blackening the trunks of the tall pines and coating everything, enhancing the colors.

Water droplets glistened on leaves and flowers like millions of diamonds, and the entire forest looked magical.

The fire roads into the forest were surprisingly busy.

Road crews and heavy machinery made their way toward the rockfall in a long convoy.

Jenna gripped the side of her seat as Kane switched on lights and sirens and barreled past them on the wrong side of the road.

Bounced all over the seat, Jenna breathed a sigh of relief when they finally drew up behind Wolfe’s van.

Rio’s truck was parked in front, blocking the trail.

She turned to Kane as he opened a door to lift Duke down.

“Do you mind helping me down? I don’t want to risk turning an ankle on that uneven ground. ”

“Yes, ma’am.” Kane swept her into his arms and carried her to the trail.

He set her down gently beside a tree ringed with crime scene tape and scanned the area.

He looked at Carter. “It’s déjà vu all over again.

” He walked beside Jenna as they approached the body.

“Do you figure he shot her with an arrow?”

“That would match the copper pennies over the eyes of the last victims who were left like this.” Carter wrinkled his nose and coughed. “I guess a wound from an arrow would clinch it.”

Grabbing a face mask as the bittersweet stench of death crept toward them like an otherworld entity, Jenna pressed the mask to her face. “I hope not. It would make this case more difficult.”

This part of the forest was beautiful. The trail was a favorite of hikers in summer.

The forest here held an abundance of wildflowers and over the years they’d spread into a carpet of colors.

Normally the air would be filled with fragrance but the smell of decomposition overpowered everything.

Crows circled above like vultures or sat clumped together on any available branch just waiting for a chance to fly down.

From the marks on the victim’s clothes, a few critters had already chewed on exposed parts.

Jenna’s gaze slid over the body, mentally taking in the victim’s position.

Most times murderers left their victims where they fell, or where they’d tossed them.

A few made a point of laying them out, either in crude poses or to make them appear asleep.

This was the latter. The girl’s arms were folded over her chest, her legs straight.

The victim’s clothes were intact and she wore blue examination gloves—why?

She couldn’t recall any other victim wearing gloves.

After moving closer to peer at the victim’s face, she pulled out her phone and scrolled through the images of the missing high school girls.

She nodded to Wolfe as he talked into a small recording device and peered at the victim’s face.

Although bright copper pennies covered the eyes, it was still obvious this poor girl was Samantha Haimes.

Jenna swallowed hard and took in the scene and then went to speak to Rio and Rowley.

They stood some distance away staring at Wolfe as he conducted a preliminary examination.

“Okay, what have you got for me? The victim resembles Samantha Haimes. What did the first on-scene witnesses see?”

“Not much.” Rio stood hands on hips and feet apart.

“They noticed the body as they drove past and stopped to take a look. One of the men, I have his details, came closer but didn’t go past the head of the trail.

He knew by the smell the victim was deceased and called it in.

They waited until we arrived to make sure nothing happened to the body.

They’ve been sounding their horn repeatedly to keep the crows away.

” He lifted his chin. “I’ve sent them on their way as they’re part of the crew heading up the mountain to unblock the road to the ski resort.

” He sighed. “Any news of Em and Raven?”

Jenna gave her head a shake. “Nothing new, no. I’m guessing they’re trying to find a way through the forest. Raven mentioned staying with his vehicle, but worse case, they’ll try and hike out but it’s dangerous with the tremors and the rockslides.”

“They’ll be fine.” Kane rubbed his chin.

“Raven knows the forest, and he won’t take any chances.

” He looked up at the heavy low clouds. “Once the visibility improves, Carter will take up his chopper. When we locate them, we’ll drop them food and water and a few other supplies.

Hopefully the road crew will make a path for them, but if not, they’ll need to get away from the rock face, and we’ll be able to get them out. ”

“I’m checking visibility every ten minutes or so.” Carter looked up from his phone. “Once it’s safe, my chopper is ready. I only need a few preflight checks and we can leave.”

“Rowley.” Wolfe beckoned him. “I need your eyes on this wound.”

Jenna followed him and they all peered at a single puncture wound in the victim’s back. She watched as Rowley bent closer, with one hand clamped to his face mask.

“I’ll need to look closer once I get back to the morgue but that doesn’t resemble a gunshot.” Wolfe frowned and glanced at Kane.

“A bullet large enough to make a hole like that would have gone right through and blasted a hole the size of my fist out the front.” Kane shook his head. “Not a bullet.”

“Nope, that’s the typical wound I’d see in bowhunting.” Rowley stood slowly. “This guy went overboard. From the size of the wound, the victim was hit with a broadhead arrow with a head size of 125 grains.”

As Rowley’s passion was bowhunting and competition, Jenna had an expert standing beside her. She looked at him. “What kind of arrows are we looking at, Jake?”

“A few types but I’d say maybe the FMJ Dangerous Game or the Carbon Express Piledriver Pass Thru Extreme, although I figure the FMJ would be closer to what I’m seeing.

” He glanced around at the trees. “I don’t see any marks from retrieved arrows and these would leave a decent hole.

This guy is a marksman if he took her down in a single shot. ”

“You’d assume she was running for her life.” Kane looked at him. “It’s a straight trail but has roots all over, so I’d imagine she’d be moving from side to side. You’d be able to make the shot, right?”

“That would depend on the light.” Rowley frowned.

“It was a full moon last night and this is a wide trail, so yeah. I’d make the shot, but it wouldn’t be easy.

” He indicated to the body. “That is a kill shot. The arrow would have passed straight through the heart and embedded in the sternum. Getting it out wouldn’t have been easy. ”

“Look at this.” Wolfe rolled the body onto its back and lifted the front of the T-shirt.

Jenna moved closer. The killer had scratched the words “not mine” deep into the skin. She looked at Kane. “Another message. What does this mean?”

“I figure he’ll kill them all until he makes his point.” Kane shook his head. “We need to be looking at the cases he’s copying and search for anything that could possible connect them.”

Frowning, Jenna shook her head. “This time, I figure you’re wrong, Dave.

” She stared into the forest and then her attention rested on Wolfe.

“These are our cases, right? Most of our cases are multiple homicides, so I’m guessing this guy is telling us we made a mistake with at least one of the victims.” She chewed on her bottom lip .

Did I make a mistake? Did I have the wrong man convicted for murder?